As a student of the esoteric science, specifically the western mysteries, I come across interesting questions from close friends regarding what I do and what I believe in.

One of the most recent questions posed to me was an age-old popular one: do I believe in God and is there a ˜divine plan™? It™s a loaded question that requires some clarification instead of a œyes or œno answer.

So do I believe in God? Yes, from my point of view, I believe in a Universal Supreme Intelligence that is Omnipotent, Omniscience and Omnipresence. I do not, however, believe in the typical religious point of view.

By the Law of Analogy, we can take a human being for example, since œAnd God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness¦. A human being, as we are aware, is a sentient creature, made up of millions or billions of cells with each functioning on its own level and purpose. With regards to the Universal Supreme Intelligence, we are its cells, existing and functioning at various levels.

Like the cells in our own bodies, we have a purpose for our existence even though we are typically unaware of the part we play in the grand scheme of things, or even the existence that we are a part of, consciously. As our own thoughts can affect our health or even our being at a molecular level, there are some people who are affected by imprints from the Supreme Being. The Gnostics, Sufis, Jewish mystics and oriental philosophers are classic examples.

There is a constant nudging at the back of our mind that there is œsomething out there behind the mysterious veil of life, something that is more than what we are shown. This is usually the first awakening: a sense that there is something out there, something perfect we have lost.

This searching is what I would call, romantically, œThe Quest for the Ideal, immortalized in the various ancient epics, such as the Legends of the Grail, the Egyptian myth of Isis searching for her murdered lord Osiris, and Ceres searching for Prosperine in the Eleusisian Mysteries. Note how we are unconsciously enamored by these legends.

This primordial quest stirs in us from time to time, and some simply shrug it aside, being contented with some form of philosophical fallacy or comforting faith, while others feel it so strongly that it affects their lives to a deep extent. For them, it stirs what Jung would call the œreligious instinct in the deeper psyche, driving them actively in the search.

For most of us, however, we just exist in this cosmic dream, wandering aimlessly, being swayed back and forth by the tides, as onlookers instead of partakers of the mysteries and wonders of the universe and life.

Since the Supreme Intelligence is Omnipotent, at our current stage of evolution, we can have but partial knowledge or gnosis regarding this Supreme Intelligence, where we have our being. The various attempts to anthropomorphize the Supreme Intelligence have resulted in many inadequate and gross misunderstandings, which reflect more of the character of its adherents than anything else.

Nonetheless, it is an ideal for those of us actively engaging in the quest, to hope to come to a full realization of this Supreme Intelligence, just like Sophia longing to be re-united with the Pleroma.

What transpired above may have whetted some of your appetite, and you may ask œSo how do I go about this Quest? In the following articles, I will outline some general pointers and hazards that may give those of you who are interested guidelines and pointers for consideration.